The present invention relates to devices for repairing holes in walls constructed of wall board and the like and more particularly to a device that provides means for securing a support for filling materials.
In a building having walls constructed of wall board or the like it is frequently necessary to repair punctures and holes knocked therein. Ball, sticks, furniture, and other objects as well as the removal of electrical outlets and sockets commonly cause holes in these types of walls. If a repair is attempted, the patching material falls into the space behind the walls making this a very poor method of repair. Old newspapers, rags, and the like have been used to attempt to provide a suitable backing for patching compounds. All of these methods have proved unsuitable.
The prior art includes several expansion anchoring type devices such as the embodiments disclosed in Standing, U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,107 issued Sept. 10, 1974, LeBlanc, U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,084 issued Sept. 12, 1972, and Haut, U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,955 issued June 20, 1967. These devices must remain inside the wall after patching and therefore cannot be reused. The devices disclosed in Standing, LeBlanc, and Haut are complex in design, they are expensive to manufacture, and are consumed each time a backing is needed. Also, such backing units include one or more elements which have to be positioned against a stud or other suitable means, such as the rear of the adjacent wall, in order to adequately support the unit during and after the damaged area is repaired.
The prior art further includes a wall board repair device as shown in Rosenbloom, U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,970 issued Feb. 27, 1973. The embodiment disclosed therein is a wedge that is inserted into a hole in the wall and is expanded and secured therein. Once again, the device must be expended each time a repair is made making the repair costly. Also the device offers questionable support if the wall board is constructed of a very thin gauge material.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,416 issued to Helton, Aug. 22, 1961 an apparatus for repairing wall board is disclosed. The apparatus provides means for a wall board patch to be secured in position so that it can be plastered in place. Although simple in design this embodiment is cumbersome to use as it is necessary to rotate the apparatus in order to complete the patching process. Furthermore, the user must provide a nut or stop element that is lost in the wall after patching adding to the expense of the process.